The varsity boys soccer team played an intense and aggressive match against their rivals the Round Rock Dragons on Tuesday, Feb. 13, ending the game in a 3-2 defeat. The last time the Warriors took the field against the Dragons it didn’t end in their favor, but they were looking to flip the script this time around.

“I expect it to be a good game, both teams are doing a lot worse than [they] should be, and we’ll be looking to bounce back,” Owen Plug ’24 said. “Last time [we played this team] we lost 1-0 after conceding an own goal for a good close game, I believe [we’ll be able to beat them].”

Before the game began, the Warriors huddled up together to talk strategy. Once Jack Cox ‘26 kicked off the game it was evident that whatever was said had given them a boost of confidence as Westwood immediately captured possession of the ball. Not long after, the ball went out of bounds numerous times, giving Ishaan Saini ‘26 multiple throw-ins. A couple of minutes into the game Beau Bryant ‘26, Brian Gaede ‘24, and Caleb Fagan ‘25 found success working together as they performed one of their most reliable plays, granting Westwood opportunities to score.

Through the opening minutes of the match, the Warriors possessed the ball in the offensive half, playing strongly. One of the most prominent players in the first half was Shalin Lakhia ‘24, with multiple breakaways that gave the Warriors an advantage. However, at the 20-minute mark, the Warriors stumbled and lost possession of the ball. As a result of this, the Dragons were able to take multiple shots, which Anvith Maddipoti ‘24 was able to save without hesitation.

For the rest of the first half, the Warriors were forced to stay on defense taking a slew of throw-ins. Exploiting holes in Westwood’s defensive line, the Dragons were able to score twice before halftime. After a long period of defending, Braden Wilson ‘24 brought the ball up the field and gave the Warriors the upper hand. With that advantage, Cox was able to score the first goal for Westwood just before halftime, leaving the Warriors with momentum for the rest of the game.

“[I felt like] my free kick was executed really well,” Cox said. “I felt a rush of happiness [after I scored], and felt like the game was going to go out way after that.”

Starting the second half with determination to tie up the score, the Warriors immediately went on offense, applying pressure. To the dismay of the Warriors, Round Rock was able to score again halfway into the second half after a tough bout on defense by the Warriors. Not long after the Warriors went on offense again, Lakhia broke away and got close to the goal, but was shoved by a Round Rock player, which sent him rolling. The Round Rock player received a red card for his action, and certainly did not leave the field unnoticed as he took off his shirt and smacked one of Westwood’s players with it.

“[Round Rock has always been aggressive],” Cox said. “We try to match that, and we did a pretty good job at doing that.”

After the drama subsided, the Warriors went back on defense taking multiple interceptions that benefited the Warriors, allowing Caleb Fagan ‘25 to score. Westwood attempted a corner kick with 10 seconds left in the game but couldn’t punch it in, resulting in a close loss.

“We conceded too early so we were always chasing,” Fagan said. “We definitely stepped up from last time we played them. Both teams got a lot better, and we just conceded too early on too many unfortunate players. We definitely had possession at the very end of the game, but we had a lot of dangerous passes, we could’ve just put them away.”

The varsity boys soccer team will take on the Cedar Ridge Raiders on Tuesday, Feb. 20, at Cedar Ridge at 7:30 p.m.